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FIRST manager Jason Beyers recently organized a winter meeting of FIRST farmer members, who host plots in northern Illinois and Wisconsin regions. The FIRST team asked the producers how they use the information FIRST provides.
There are a number of ways to retrieve FIRST reports on www.firstseedtests.com, and the most common way the group finds them is using interactive maps. They are looking for the local results: certainly the plots they host and others nearby. One FIRST member said he always plants some acreage with the winner of his plot the next year.
In addition to local results, the plot locations of particularly interest among the group were those with conditions relevant to their operation or concerns. Several look for FIRST plots planted after and into cover crops. Disease concerns prompt these farmers to look at yields in tar spot or white mold affected locations. No-till farmers want to know which products performed best in that practice, as well as similar soils types, or corn-on-corn rotations.
COMMON INTERESTS
» Yield following cover crops »
» Plots affected by disease pressure »
» No-till and corn-on-corn rotation plots »
Those looking for multi-year data were encouraged by the Product Reports available for each hybrid and variety in FIRST tests. Links directly from the published harvest reports offer an easy way to review multi-location, and multi-year results for products of interest.
Many were asking for easier ways to find the best performing products for their location and conditions overall. These FIRST members had a lot of great feedback, and we appreciate their input.
FIRST is using information from these and other producers who have shared ways they would like to use FIRST results. Better search tools, and quicker ways to find reports by keywords, management practices, and performance metrics are in development. Feel free to send us your feedback.
Stay tuned for more updates.
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